Rotorway 162 N162RF

Summary

On 27 October 2018 at about 23:00 local time, a Rotorway 162 registered N162RF was involved in an accident near Passaic, Missouri, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 October 2018 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Passaic, Missouri, United States

Coordinates

38.3219, -94.3469

Aircraft

Rotorway 162

Registration

N162RF

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2015

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Butler → Butler

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN19LA016

Nobody was injured.

The electrical short in the main rotor rpm indicating unit which provided an inaccurate indication to the student pilot and resulted in substantial damage during the precautionary autorotation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot reported that, about 10 minutes into the flight, he observed the main rotor rpm indicating unit drop to zero. The student confirmed that the engine rpm indications were "still normal" and then decided to execute an autorotation to an open field and lowered the collective. He stated that the helicopter was in a "steady glide" when he realized that it might impact a fence at his intended landing area in the field. The student applied aft cyclic to avoid the fence, which changed the helicopter’s glidepath; he then flared the helicopter and applied collective for the landing. During the landing, the right skid’s rear portion impacted terrain. The helicopter bounced, the student lost helicopter control, and the helicopter came to rest on its right side resulting in substantial damage. Postaccident examination of the helicopter revealed an electrical short had occurred in the main rotor rpm indicating unit. Given the student reported that the engine rpm indications were “still normal," it is likely the helicopter was still functioning normally despite the loss of cockpit main rotor rpm indications.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.